Hyderabad: Ministers anxious over ULB polls

Hyderabad: Every minister is in a tizzy and in fear that he may lose his job, sooner than later. This uneasiness follows party boss and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s warning that the ministers will cease to be in his team if the municipal election outcome goes against the Telangana Rashtra Samithi.

The ruling party has taken the elections at Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Adilabad, and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts as a prestige issue because it was from those places that the Opposition parties scored several political points in the last Lok Sabha elections.

This came as a shock to Mr Rao and he is now reportedly watching every move of the opposition parties and on how they are gearing up for the urban body polls.

During the Lok Sabha elections, Mr Rao’s daughter K. Kavitha was unseated from Nizamabad by BJP candidate D. Arvind Kumar.

As a face-saving gesture, the party leadership is trying to win  the Nizamabad Corporation and other municipalities in the constituency.

Minister for roads and buildings Vemula Prashanth Reddy, who is from Nizamabad, and other MLAs are sweating it out to ensure a TRS victory. Party sources said that Mr Rao has reportedly told Mr Prashanth Reddy that if he wishes to save his portfolio, he has to ensure that the TRS triumphs in Nizamabad.

A similar situation prevails in Karimnagar, where BJP with an MP seat in its kitty is trying to penetrate into the local bodies.

This is causing heartburn to ministers Etala Rajendar and Gangula Kamalakar, who are chalking out strategies to win the polls. But there are some ego issues.

Meanwhile, there is a cold war between Mr Kamalakar and former mayor Sardar Ravinder Singh, who has a strong base in Karimnagar.

It is stated that Mr Singh may not get a ticket, which could create trouble for the minister, if the party comes a cropper.

Mr Rajendar is focussing on Huzurabad and Jammikunta municipalities which fall under his Assembly constituency.

In Adilabad district, BJP MP Soyam Bapurao and minister A. Indrakaran Reddy are making serious efforts to prove their individual strength.

Former minister and MLA Jogu Ramanna, who has considerable hold in the urban local bodies, is said to be maintaining a distance from the minister and other senior leaders, which may adversely affect the party prospects.

The four municipal corporations under Medchal-Malkajgiri district will come as a major challenge for minister Ch. Malla Reddy, whose son-in-law M. Rajasekhar Reddy faced defeat in the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha seat at the hands of state Congress party working president A. Revanth Reddy.